Startup Porn

Startup porn: A collection of entertaining, stimulating, and worthless activities that distract an entrepreneur from focusing on what really matters, hindering future achievements.

Running a startup is like jogging in a hurricane: Stuff flies at you from every direction. Separating the immediate from the important – and the important from the critical – largely determines success.

Here’s a list of things that won’t help you succeed:

1. Michael Arrington’s view on anything other than your startup

2. Responding to comment trolls

3. The daily fluctuations in your Twitter followers

4. Comparing yourself to Mark Zuckerberg (or any other founder)

5. Repeatedly using the term “killing it” or “crushing it”

6. Cat videos

7. Complaining about virtually anything

8. Blaming _______ for your profound lack of traction

9. Internet stalking people you don’t like

10. Reading five blog posts on the same topic to make sure you “got it”

11. Stereotyping

12. Focusing on your next pivot

13. Bringing up your degrees

14. Prioritizing legal fees over your product

15. Designing a killer startup T-shirt

16. Posting political rants

17. An NDA

18. Researching how to elevate your Klout score

19. Understanding the difference between convertible debt and convertible equity

20. Basking in vanity metrics

21. Expensive business cards

22. Arguing the merits of PowerPoint vs. Prezi vs. whatever

23. Checking your email 27 times a day

24. Bragging about your lack of sleep

25. Focusing on head count

26. Imagining what you’ll do with $10 million

27. Non-paying users

28. Being intimidated

29. Obsessing over your logo colors

30. Second-guessing your decision

31. Your 50-page business plan

32. Micromanaging

33. Focusing on your revenue

34. Feigning interest in people for gain

35. Your amazing product that goes un-marketed

36. Gossip

37. This article. Get back to work.

Brent Beshoreis the founder and CEO of adventur.es (#28 on 2011 Inc. 500), which identifies problems to tackle and looks for those who share their passion to create change. He is also a venture partner at Gen Y Capital, a regular contributor to Forbes, Huffington Post, and Washington Post, and a runner-up in the 2011 VH1 Do Something Awards (lost to Lady Gaga) for his work in helping his hometown of Joplin, MO recover from the devastating tornado. Connect with Brent on Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+.

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Comments

My favorite is number 17. Startups spend so much time telling people snippits about their idea and saying they can’t discuss all of it without an NDA that they waste time they could be getting feedback on the idea!

Indeed, distractions are part of the process when starting up. When you can’t find the desire to focus on the things that you got to do first and foremost even on problems eventually you’ll be surprised that you are stuck in the disturbances around you.

This is realistic list. My favorite is number two. Most people do this and it even became the trends in their lives. Some do love to watch out others mistakes or crave to know some news about their fellows to compare things that they had. Commonly these people love comment trolls also love arguments maybe and I don’t know how this thing can make their lives better.